Arsene Wenger acted with uncharacteristic haste in the early stages of the window and succeeded on a number of fronts: deadwood like Johan Djourou and Nicklas Bendtner were finally cut from the squad; Chambers brought potential and versatility; Debuchy was a like-for-like replacement for Sagna; and Sanchez was the kind of star acquisition who can transform a team. However, the sale of Vermaelen and an injury to Olivier Giroud made the squad look vulnerable again and though Welbeck could be a good signing to strengthen the attack, Wenger perplexingly failed to sign another centre-back, leaving the club short in a key position as they fight on four fronts.

Aston Villa's early manouveres indicated Paul Lambert had stumbled across a collection of scouting reports from 2008 as Cole, Richardson and Senderos failed to garner much excitement, but at least Cissokho and Sanchez, who starred for Colombia at the World Cup finals, are rather more interesting acquisitions. Villa's problem last season was a lack of experience and quality. The first of those shortcomings has been addressed, but the jury remains out on the second.

The Clarets made a game attempt to bring in Premier League experience and ended up with three new midfielders in Taylor, Reid and Kightly. However, the suspicion remains that they failed to exercise the superior financial muscle granted to them by the huge Premier League TV income to have a real go in the transfer market. They look to be building a side capable of winning promotion again next season. At least Leicester signed Esteban Cambiasso. Still, at least living within your means should be applauded.

Not only did Chelsea complete the vast majority of their transfer business at a very impressive pace, they also recruited some superb players while making only a minor loss. The acquisitions of Costa and Fabregas are already paying off handsomely while Luis is also a fine player. Remy adds potency to an attack strengthened by the loss of Torres but Chelsea's finest piece of business has to be somehow convincing Paris Saint-Germain to part with £50m for David Luiz.

Palace spent most of the summer contending with managerial chaos and indeed arguments over supposed transfer targets were reported to be behind the exit of Tony Pulis. It was said he did not want to sign Wilfried Zaha on loan, but the capture of the winger looks a canny move and Zaha is the best of an uninspiring bunch of new signings at Selhurst Park - though record signing and deadline day capture McArthur is a decent enough player for the midfield.

The Toffees used to be a club who operated at the lower end of the market so paying £28m for Lukaku was a bold statement of intent. Sadly, though, it didn't technically improve their team given he played last season on loan at Goodison Park. The capture of Barry, too, sustained the status quo, but Besic looks an interesting capture and Eto'o adds some grandeur to the squad - though quite how effective he will be remains to be seen, even on a two-year contract.

Steve Bruce spent big this summer, breaking his transfer record no less than three times with the purchases of Snodgrass, Livermore and then, on deadline day, Uruguay international Abel Hernandez, who went to the World Cup finals. It all added up to an expensive summer but plenty was recouped by the sale of Long, which represented good business. Have Hull spent wisely? Only time will tell, and plenty rests on how Hernandez fits in, but Gaston Ramirez is an interesting punt too and if he can prove his fitness, Hatem Ben Arfa could be an excellent addition to the squad.

Ulloa scored on his Premier League debut and looks as though he could be a good signing, but the most exciting Argentinian pitching up in Leicester this summer was certainly Cambiasso. His free transfer arrival from Inter was in the best traditions of the Premier League and on a par with some of the most unexpected signings in the vintage summers of 1996 and 1997. Okay, so he might not have that much of an impact, but at least Leicester gave it a go. A late move for Jermain Defoe did not materialise.

A summer which witnessed the sale of Suarez and the signing of Balotelli cannot be described as anything other than eventful, and Brendan Rodgers signed another 10 players for good measure as well. Fears of repeating Tottenham's scatter-gun approach to replacing Gareth Bale are understandable but probably misleading: Liverpool have recruited good players in positions they needed to strengthen and brought in some promising youngsters too. They won't be as good as they were with Suarez, but crucially, with Champions League football to contend with, they have far more strength in depth all over the pitch.

Like Chelsea, City benefitted from having a focused and well-executed transfer strategy and, like Chelsea, they did most of their work early on, upping their defensive quota with the additions of centre-back Mangala and defensive midfielder Fernando. Lampard is a signing who will have little to no impact but Sagna and Caballero increase competition for places and City are a more effective proposition as they look to improve on their title-winning campaign. There was no superstar signing this year - despite late talk of a move for Falcao - but City can be pleased with their business nonetheless.

Where to start? Well, United must be applauded for breaking the British transfer record to sign Di Maria from Real Madrid and he is a necessary addition to the squad, bringing pace and penetration. Falcao - a shock signing on deadline day - is also a fantastic, show-stopping addition, but is he really worth the truly staggering reported £350,000-a-week wages he will receive while at the club? Herrera and Shaw are bursting with promise while Rojo is versatile and Blind should add steel in midfield and cover in defence. United went on the second biggest spending spree of all time - second only to Real Madrid's splurge in 2009. Still, there remain glaring holes in United's squad, particularly if they persist with 3-5-2, as they are still lacking a top-notch right wing-back and possibly two new centre-backs. So not a perfect window by any means.

It was a remarkably competent summer window at Newcastle - proving what can be done without Joe Kinnear with his hand on the tiller - as the Magpies entered the European market again and made good signings in Cabella, De Jong and Janmaat. Domestically the cheeky free transfer signing of Colback and the additions of Forest duo Lascelles and Darlow also caught the eye. It was an expensive summer's work, but a good one too.

Transfer windows are never boring when Harry Redknapp is around and Rangers made some bold acquisitions for a promoted team. Early signs were not encouraging with a 3-5-2 formation struggling to get off the ground, but in Fer, Ferdinand and Caulker they have at least strengthened their spine and deadline day brought eyecatching deals for both Niko Kranjcar and Sandro. It remains to be seen whether Redknapp's shotgun approach to recruitment will serve QPR well but his two final deals are both real coups.

An exodus on a scale not seen since Moses parted the Red Sea had everyone fearing for Southampton, and while they have made a healthy profit there is no doubt the squad is weaker than it was last season. Forster solves their intermittent goalkeeping concerns and Long and Pelle strengthen the attack, along with supporting cast Tadic and Mane, but the sheer weight of talent drained from St Mary's means this was a troublesome window. Lots of new faces arrived, but few have Premier League experience.

Stoke did not lose any key players and made some exciting signings, most notably former Barcelona youngster Bojan. Though their new attacking additions have not clicked as yet, this was nonetheless a productive window's work for Mark Hughes, though they could have done with a couple more bodies.

Sunderland needed a good, logical and generally non-ridiculous transfer window after a year or so of manic turbulence overseen by various managers and directors of football, and by and large they got one. Gus Poyet cut a lot of the dross from his squad and made some signings which made sense, with Rodwell the key addition in central midfield after his disappointing time at Manchester City. Still, outright quality - Jordi Gomez's passing and the temperamental talents of Ricky Alvarez excluded of course - was lacking, and the loss of Colback to rivals Newcastle on a free transfer was borderline insulting.

Bringing Sigurdsson back to the club was one of the finest pieces of summer business judging on the way he has started the season, while Gomis also looks an astute capture on a free. Losing the talented Davies was undoubtedly a blow - as was seeing Michu join Napoli - but Swansea had a productive summer in the market despite a number of departures and it shows in their early-season form.

Tottenham spent a not-insignificant amount of money this summer but have not improved their first XI in any significant way. Dier has started well but Fazio and Davies may not make an impact straight away, Yeldlin has been loaned out, Stambouli is a rather unknown quantity and Vorm is a sub. Could have done a lot more.

The Baggies signed no less than 11 players as new manager Alan Irvine overhauled the squad, with the most expensive being club record signing Brown Ideye, whom Ivrine admitted he had never seen play. With so many arrivals, the success of West Brom's summer work will come out in the wash, though early signs are not particularly encouraging.

With a focus on attacking football having been thrust on him from above, Sam Allardyce welcomed a number of new forwards with Mauro Zarate making a good early impact and big things expected of Ecuador World Cup star Enner Valencia. Alex Song became a figure of fun at Barcelona but there is no doubting he has quality and he should be a good addition in midfield. There was certainly enough to get excited about for Hammers fans.

Manchester City were the last English champions to be relegated the very next season, going down in 1938 despite finishing the season as top scorers. The Foxes, just a few months after sensationally lifting the Premier League trophy, are now just two points above the relegation zone. It couldn’t really happen, could it? Perhaps the ghost of relegated champions past will make Leicester change their ways. Maybe they’ll give Bob Cratchit Christmas Day off after all. More »